Edmund Hoffmeister

Who was Edmund Hoffmeister?

Edmund Hoffmeister was an officer in the German Army, mainly notable for his service in the Wehrmacht Heer during World War II.

Hoffmeister's military service began in 1914 in the Imperial German army. During the 1930s, Hoffmeister was part of the 'Foreign Armies' section of the German military and acted as liaison officer with the Soviet Union on the development of mechanised units.

Colonel Hoffmeister, as commander of Infantry Regiment 21 of the German 17th Infantry Division, was scheduled to link up with a 131-man Brandenburger commando team during Operation Sea Lion and push up the coast to Dover. Hoffmeister's division was to be part of the German 16th Army's area of operations. Operation Sea Lion was to have been launched in 1940 after the Fall of France, but it was abandoned in September of that same year.

Promoted to Lieutenant-General, Hoffmeister commanded the German 383rd Infantry Division on the Eastern Front from 1 July 1943 to 20 June 1944, and on 6 October 1943, was awarded a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.